


To Know The Stakes

by buttonless



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-27
Updated: 2014-01-27
Packaged: 2018-01-10 06:02:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1156005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttonless/pseuds/buttonless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On his way out of Missouri, Dean’s lunch is interrupted by an unexpected guest- Abaddon.  She is less than frightened by the new mark on his arm, and as she hints at the consequences of the mark of Cain, Dean begins to realize he might be in over his head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Know The Stakes

She wasn’t there a minute ago, he is sure- His hand is on the handle of his knife almost as quickly as she had appeared, but he barely has time to clear the blade of his coat pocket before she whispers dangerously. 

“Try anything,” she says through red stained lips, “And everyone in this restaurant dies.” His eyes flash through the other diners, and he knows she isn’t bluffing- One person at every occupied table is staring straight at them with unnatural intensity, while their families talk and laugh around them, ignorant of the danger.

“I only want to talk,” she tells him. “Cross my heart. But keep your hand on that toothpick if it will make you feel better.”

He sets his jaw in an angry line and continues to hold the knife hidden inside his jacket.

“Good boy,” she purrs. “The civilians will be fine, I promise. We’ll let them all go, just as soon as we finish our chat.” She waves a hand at the passing waitress.

“Could we have two slices of pie?”

“Certainly,” the waitress beams. He feels sick. “What kind can I get for you?”

“Surprise us,” the demon grins. “And bring me the check. For the pies and his meal.”

The waitress scuttles off, and he lets off neither the glare nor the grip on his blade.

“So, Winchester. Is it true?”

“Is what true?” His voice is even and controlled, but he knows what she’s talking about.

“Don’t play dumb with me,” she laughs. It is a metallic sound, and a ringlet of bright scarlet tickles the back of her neck as she leans her head back. “Did you take the mark of Cain for yourself?”

“Maybe I did,” he says in his cockiest voice. He looks down briefly to his forearm, and flashes her an equally dangerous smile. Two can play at bravado, after all.

“Well, how about that.” She seems amused, and almost a little perplexed. “I didn’t realize I meant quite so much to you.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. You mean dirt to me,” he hisses. “Which is why I’m gonna end you. With a jawbone through the heart.”

She ignores him.

“To be honest, I was almost expecting you’d stay out of this whole affair. Especially after everything that wretched businessman has put you through. I seem to recall quite a few grievances between the two of you. But I suppose you might be of that old philosophy: Better the devil you know?”

“Better the devil that’s dead.”

She laughs, but not as mockingly. She seems to genuinely think he’s told a funny joke.

The waitress returns, bearing two plates and the check.

“One strawberry, one key lime,” she says as she puts them down. “Enjoy!”

“We will,” his enemy grins as she signs the receipt and passes the waitress a small plastic card. She picks up a fork, and takes a delicate bite of the key lime slice. “Eat up, Winchester. We’ve still got a lot to talk about.”

He hesitates, but she cocks her head to the side and raises one eyebrow, daring him to disobey. He cuts through the slice of strawberry with the blunt edge of the fork and lifts it to his mouth.

“Honestly, I’m still having trouble believing it. A Winchester took up the mark of Cain. I had supposed it could happen, of course. But I had assumed- Well, I’ve heard the stories. You boys threw the Apocalypse to save each other. So you can understand why I’m a bit… Well, confused.”

“I’m just full of surprises.” He takes another bite, if only to avoid her calculating stare. It’s good pie, he figures, and she’s paying. He might as well go out with a full stomach.

“The old man- He told you how he got it, of course?”

He nods through his mouthful, and she takes another forkful of the key lime.

“Their Bible says that God was the one to mark him, so that all would know the sin he bore. So they would know that he was not to be harmed, lest they themselves feel the wrath of it. But you and I- We both know that’s not true.”

“The mark of Cain,” she says with a glance towards his arm, “Was inscribed by Lucifer himself. A physical manifestation of the first formal deal between the devil and a human. The deal was simple: One brother’s soul in Heaven for the other’s in Hell. And of course, there was the manner in which those souls reached their destinations. By betrayal.”

She frowns thoughtfully as his churning mind betrays him- He thinks of Sam. He does what he can to keep his growing panic from showing on his face.

“I don’t think I care much for key lime,” she announces. Her fork hovers over his half-eaten slice of strawberry. “Do you mind?”

She takes a forkful before he can respond.

“You may bear the mark of Cain, Winchester. And perhaps you will soon wield the blade as well. But make no mistake- The deal Cain made with Lucifer is ancient, and sacred to all of demon kind. It makes no difference who wears the mark, or if the original dealer is imprisoned. Any blood spilt by that blade comes with an eventual cost. Now, demons rarely agree on anything these days, it seems. But I promise you this- They will rally in unity to ensure that cost gets paid.”

She smiles charmingly at him, showing teeth too sharp to be natural. “But you already knew this, of course,” she says through a mouthful of strawberry pie. She enunciates well, though, flicking her tongue against her reddened teeth through the mashed filling.

He makes no response, which is all the confirmation she needs. She grins wider still, the pie filling smeared across her mouth like blood.

The waitress chooses that moment to return with the bill and card. “You two have a great day, now, you hear?”

“Of course,” the demon returns as she places her card back into her leather billfold. “You too!”

She sighs as the waitress leaves.

“Your idiot of a business partner seems to think he and I are in some sort of ‘campaign’. I fail to see why he ever left the nest, to be honest, if he’s so fond of bureaucracy. But he’s entirely wrong with his semantics. It is a battle. A simple street fight, but played with brains as well as brawn. And it’s going to end, much sooner than he thinks. It’s going to end,” she says as she stabs her fork through the crust of the last bite of strawberry pie and raises it to her eye level to appraise it, “With his head in my fist. Detached from the rest of him.” She adds the last part, as though the clarification was needed.

“And if the First Blade has been wet with blood- Well, enforcing Lucifer’s first deal will be one hell of a coronation party for the new queen of demons.”

“I’m going to take so much pleasure in gutting you,” he growls at her.

“Don’t be like that,” she says with a wave of her manicured hand. “I’ve been more than generous. I bought your meal, I gave you information. Information my shriveling worm of an opponent conveniently neglected to tell you when he tricked you into being his puppet.”

“I’ll be sure to remember than when I’m comparing the red of your blood to that of your hair.”

She grins the widest he’s ever seen, and her laugh rings out like a bell. It is no longer chilling to hear- It is a rich, mirthful sound, and that terrifies him.

“I'll give you another favor,” she tells him as she stands up and pushes her chair in. “If you do insist on pursuing the First Blade- I’ll expand the definition of ‘fratricide’. Just for you.”

She leans across the table, her arms crossed on the back of her chair and a leathered boot toe against the ground.

“After all, family doesn’t always end in blood, does it? Family is those we would kill for- And you’ve certainly done a lot of that for your little ragtag family. I’ll even give you a whole month to complete the terms of the deal, from when you first touch that blade. That’s far more time than Cain was given, and he didn’t even get to decide which of his family members would be secured a spot in the Eternal Reward for his betrayal.”

His throat is ashen and dry, and he is almost sure the room is beginning to crumble around him. He left them. He left them so they would be safe. But he’s still managed to let them down.

“So, which will it be, Cain-marked? The failed God of Angels? Or the failed Prince of Demons? Your choice.”

She says the last two words with a silken caress, as though they convey intimacy among the most honored. She wipes strawberry pie filling off her lips with his napkin, and with a wink and a slight wave of her fingers, she is gone.


End file.
